Thankful: November 30th

Its the last post of Thankful November.

What should I say?

Oh I know...it leads up to tomorrow quite well.

my babies

I'm thankful to have small children at Christmas.

I will be the first to tell you its difficult because all too often they seem in the way.
Get back the oven is HOT!  
Stay out of the tree!  
NO THAT WILL BREAK!  

But I will also be the first to tell you it is oh so fun.
It is more than lists of things they want.
Its their eyes when they see Santa (that looks real).
It is that magical expression when they see the tree all lit up.
It is that starstruck gaze as you drive through and over priced light show (that's not changed in 20 years...)

Their positive little spirits fill your home with something Yankee Candle can never offer.

children in NYC

Children ARE Christmas.

The songs, the decorations, the excitement, the sugar rush.....its all for the children.

They know the beauty of the season.

While we stress over the calendar they are filled so immensely with the true light of Christmas.

The joy.

The excitement.

We worry over the gifts and they'd just be happy with the box.

We fret over outfits and they just want to play in their pajamas (with snowmen on them).

They freeze when they see the manger and they take it all in.

a baby in sweden

It's a Baby.

It's a Baby that the babies fall silent over - eyes wide, watching intently.

Unfortunately, I find that this mesmerizing of the Baby quickly fades to expensive presents and eye rolls over the idea of getting socks in their stocking.

It becomes a me centered human condition.

It becomes a heart break.

If we could just have those sweet years - early years - last a little longer - in all of us.

Maybe the world would be different.

Maybe those of us that are Christians would treat our days differently.

Perhaps, we wouldn't riot over what we see unjust.

Perhaps, we wouldn't have fist fights over television sets.

I wonder if we would judge a person's character on their car make and model or zip code.

Would there be so much hunger?  Or loneliness?  Or fear?  

If we kept our eyes delighted, calmly on a Baby just a little longer how would the world be different?

a baby in london

It begs your thoughts.

Cherish your little ones this holiday and take cues from them.

Thankful: November 29th

Today I am thankful for cleaners.

I use them quite a bit both for work and well just being a mom and truly just being a human who has this thing for cleanliness.

On Thursday night my daughter came down with stomach bug and let's just say there was a lot of projectile vomiting. 

I had quite the mess to clean...on carpet, rugs, walls, you get my drift.

So to the makers of Lysol, Paper Towels, Resolve, and good cloths....I tip my hat.

I would also like to say not one time did I gag.  That's a pretty big feat.

Friday Favorites: Thanksgiving!!!

Our tradition continued with a few differences:

1.  We left an hour and fifteen minutes later than we normally do.
2.  Our regular meal stop is closed.  We ended up at Cracker Barrel.
3.  Never have we been there during the snow, only after it.  We watched the temperatures drop and snow blanket the whole area.
4.  This year we didn't make our regular stop on the way home.
5.  Life is full of changes, both big and small, but not matter what we're blessed.
6.  I am thankful for a wonderful Thanksgiving Day.

The temperature would continue to drop....

Going up the mountain....

The tree farm!  Blanketed.

She was so thrilled with all the snow!

Little Man wasn't too thrilled about the snow after a face plant in it.  He quickly returned to the car to get warm and eat a cookie.

One of my favorite shots before the face plant.

My sweet girl thought this to be the perfect tree because it was her height!  I wonder if we should get one this small for her room when our house is complete?!?!

A quick "selfie" my hair is reminiscent of a sheep dog right?  But look at those blue eyes!  She looks like she was made for snowy trees right?

She found the tree for Nana!

Running through the trees.  Her brother was already warm in the car and she was just having a ball.

My guys got the tree all set up in Nana's house.

Diva started feeling bad on the way home.  She wasn't too into the tree.  Little Man said that didn't mean she couldn't be festive!

My baby.

My other baby.  Her eyes tell you she feels bad.  Poor girl.  She had a rough night.

Dad helping Little Man put on a few ornaments.

Happy Holiday Season....it has started!

Thankful: November 27th

On Sunday our minister asked us to write down one thing we were thankful for and to place it on the altar.

I wrote one word that sums up my gratitude to God....

Everything.

Today I write this post to share with you how totally thankful I am for everything.

I'm thankful for my family, children, spouse.

I'm thankful for my health, clean water, food, and shelter.

I'm thankful for my friends, dog, and all the silly materials I prize.

I'm thankful for all the good.

But I have to be honest with you.  I am also thankful for all the bad.

This year there have been several bad things to happen in my life.  And though they left me sad and not sure what to do, they never stripped me of understanding that there is a reason for why they happened.  As the weeks pass by I see more and more of the reason for the "bad" things and that lets me know that Ecclesiastes 3 is right on target.



Had the bad not happened I wouldn't be as aware of my blessings.

Had the bad not happened I would be lying to you when I said I have a grateful heart.

Had the bad not happened I would not be the person I am now.

The bad has made me a better human being and has allowed me to understand the compassion and love we are freely given so much more.

So yes, I'm thankful for everything.

Thankful: November 26 & The BIG Move

Last year's Thanksgiving trip to Boone!  I believe we'll get another Thanksgiving with snow this year!

I was so bummed about Thanksgiving this year.  We have had our tradition of going to Boone, NC for lunch and then going to find a Christmas tree for six years.  It made me sad to think this year we would be Christmas Tree hunting-less.

Then my mom, who spends Thanksgiving at the beach, asked if we were getting a tree on Thursday.  I said, no, we have no where to put it.  She then said we could get her tree.

I'm so thrilled that our tradition can continue.  We can put her tree up and enjoy it until the day arrives that we can go (once again, twice in one season is going to be so fun) get our tree for our house.

And this leads me into

The BIG Move:  The Week She Brought You Random Pictures!

Stucco is done!  My husband worked on that all Saturday.

The new back door leading out to the back deck!

The current state of our living room.

This will be my walk in closet.  The door you are seeing to my current linen closet will be gone soon and boy will this space change.

Once upon a time this was my daughter's closet.  Its prepping to get sheet rock and become a full wall for the new master suite.

A look of the hallway - its changed quite a bit.  Sorry its dark!

This used to be the entry to the first bathroom and my daughter's old room.  This will be a closet soon.

As of now electrical is finished.  Soon the house will be back-filled and the outside will be completed!  The only things we have left to do are:  sheet rock, paint, and floors.  Guess what....we should be moving in in roughly 2 weeks!!!

I cannot tell you how excited we are - our hearts are so full!!!!

Things NOT To Make For Thanksgiving Dinner

BAD DESSERT



Yep that's NOT kitty litter.  Its a dessert of chocolate and Rice Krispies.  Do not put this out with your turkey.  Many may run to the bathroom to vomit.



Mystery you say?  Yes it is a mystery why this was EVER manufactured.  Keep away fruit cake from hell!



There is a reason this ended in the 60's & 70's.  If Grandma Gertie pulls this out of the oven remember you can always get Chinese Take Out!



Who is bringing the salad this year?  I hope its you!



The perfect alternative to turkey and ham....SPAM!  Remember Chinese Take Out is available!



Yes, I made this and its to die for.  Literally, you should die before you eat it.


This is sure to bring the family to the table.  Or send them running into the streets screaming.  Or have them dialing up the authorities to have the cook arrested and sent away.

Thankful: November 25th

In the past ten years of my life I've had some bad experiences.  I've gone through some slight traumas and I'd like to say walked away unscathed but that would be a lie.

One mini trauma was being a kid of divorce at twenty-seven years of age.  People think its easier for grown children to deal with but I beg to differ.  I see the resilience in children a resilience much more powerful than that of a jaded adult.

I don't like to talk about my parent's divorce because it was a dark hallway in my life.  It couldn't have happened at a worse time.  I had just had my daughter - she was three months old when they split.  That should have been a delightful time in my life but instead it was splattered with black paint.

Where is this leading to?

When my parents split I was left spitting at my dad.  I hated him.  He had lied to me over and over again and I sickened by his actions and words.  When he left I wrote him off.

Like a Dear John letter left on the mantle in a cold house.

For three years I didn't say a word to him.  I didn't see him.  I stayed away.

Part of who I am is a runner.  Not in the strap on a pair of Nikes and go way but in the you hurt me and I'm out of dodge way.  I was made aware of this in college by a dear friend.  She said it was kind of crazy how I could just run away from so much and it never bothered me.  No fight option in the fight or flight deal!

Then something happened.

I had to go to my dad's house for a quick grab of some items for my brother.  I thought he wouldn't be there.  Surprisingly (or really was it?) he was.

We talked for fifteen minutes and he cried.  I didn't know if it was show or what and I wasn't too keen on just being happy go lucky.

But we built on that visit.

Slowly, with my watchful eye and Nikes ready to take me away.

That was four years ago.

Today I'm thankful for my dad.  He's weird and annoying but he's done a lot for me and he's taught me some important life lessons I would have never received had he not been in my life.

Target Trip 11.21

On Friday I had some down time with my friend Jen.

I have introduced you to her before (see this link).  She works all the time and we rarely get to see each other.  So when I talked to her Thursday evening and she said she had Friday morning off I was thrilled to make plans.

Coffee date!  We were munching our breakfast and I mentioned wanting to go to Target.  Of course within ten minutes we were on our way.

Here are a few things we found (did not purchase) that caught our attention:

Because its true Schnapps is BETTER than marshmellows!

Yes, its cute.  No, its not worth $16.00 or $20.00  Seriously.

Okay this is great for Thanksgiving I guess but the gold garland gives it a super cheap feel.  Anyone else agree?

Me LOVE!!!!  You can extend these past the holidays too.....love the extra bang for the buck.

You know I love birds and these guys are too adorable to pass up.  So dang sweet!

I love this....just love it....retro yet rustic yet awesome.

I'm looking forward to our next trip!